|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
6 Ways to Leverage Technical Articles
Technology vendors often contribute bylined articles to trade journals. The articles are great exposure for these companies but they don't come cheap ? the trades rarely pay for these articles but the vendors spend time and resources to assign pieces, write them, approve them and submit them. Your PR agency can help your clients leverage their investment by wringing top value out of these articles. Here are some possibilities: Reprints It's pretty galling to contribute a byline to a publication, only to turn around and spend major bucks for reprint rights. But reprints are good things: they significantly increase your client's exposure to the market. Make sure you use the reprints anywhere you can, including press kits, presentation handouts and conference take-aways. Post them on your site too. Even if you haven't paid for electronic rights you can probably link to the publication's URL, assuming they've posted your article online. (It doesn't hurt to ask.) If you've got digital reprint rights and are posting the article on your client's site, avoid using a scanned hard copy of the printed article ? the resolution is poor and not very readable. Create a .PDF file and use that for posting and downloading. White Paper Please don't use the published article as is for a white paper -- even if you retain all rights it's shamelessly self-plagiarizing, and if the publication retains all rights it's rather criminal. However, you can use the article text to form the technology section of a white paper. Edit for length as necessary and re-work the text to emphasize your client's product and technology take. Then add white paper elements like a beginning executive summary and a problem statement. Follow these with your technology section, and then add details on how your client's product will solve the problem, a customer case study, and a conclusion on how great the product is. (You can always switch the order by writing a white paper first, then editing the technology section into a bylined trade journal article.) Product Briefs The article can serve as a great basis for expanded product briefs ? say the front and back of an 8-1/2x11, or a longer technical brochure. Edit the article for length and jazz up the text, and you've got a solid technology basis for the marketing document. (Good marcom can explain what a NAS gateway is, but not by yammering about "enterprise-wide intelligent data management portals." Puts readers right to sleep.) Booklets One of the best press kits I ever saw included a sharp and informative booklet on the vendor's technology. The booklet explained the general technology's development and background, presented the vendor's product, and listed clear customer advantages. It impressed both journalists and customers in a way a press release or even a white paper wouldn't have done. Booklets are labor-intensive, so use your trade journal article as the basis for writing your own. Speech Outline and Handouts Use existing articles as the basis for client speeches and presentations. Since trade journal articles are usually vendor-neutral, they'll work as-is for similar talks. When the presentation is about a product you can still use the article outline for the background technology and analysis then add product details, customer case studies, and Q&A's. You can use article reprints as a handout, or turn the outline into speaker's notes and use that instead. If your client gulps at the cost of developing a trade journal article, don't leave them gasping for breath ? list all the ways they can leverage it to increase market exposure and profits. -- Christine Taylor is president of Keyword Copywriting, which helps marketing and PR pros leverage their relationships with technology clients. E-mail her at chris@keywordcopy.com, call her at 760-249-6071, or check out Keyword's Website at www.keywordcopy.com About The Author Christine writes technical marketing communications for data storage, networking and pharmaceutical clients, including: EMC Commvault Quantum StoneFly Networks Sybase Maranti Networks ClariStor Fujitsu AES Obagi Medical Products She specializes in trade journal articles, white papers, press kits and online content. She serves as a contributing editor to Computer Technology Review and acts as editor-in-chief for Storage Inc. and Storage Management Solutions. Before moving into technical journalism and marketing she served 20 years in the IT trenches, including systems administration at Avery Dennison's Research and Development division.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Should You Hire a Ghostwriter? Have you heard the term 'ghostwriter' and wondered what they do or who they work with? Although it sounds mysterious, ghostwriting is actually a very simple agreement where an individual or company hires a writer to create a work that will be owned outright by the buyer. The buyer is not required to give credit to the writer and is even allowed to claim authorship. The Psychology Of Effortless Writing I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. ~James Michener Plagiarism Through The Eyes Of College Students Plagiarism has been condemned lately by all types of experts, including scholars, university board members and even commercial parties, such as TurnItIn, which sells plagiarism detection software righteously claiming that plagiarism should be combated through the most efficient and up to date tools. Well, if these companies ever reach their ultimate goal of eliminating plagiarism, they will go out of business. Meanwhile, we see that everyone discussing plagiarism has certain motivation and interest to defend one point or another. Students, however, don't seem to have an interest to speak on this subject at all, or worse - they have never been asked. How to Write Articles, Reports, and Books Quickly Do you have trouble getting your thoughts and ideas down into an article? Do you find it difficult to put 'pen to paper' to get your book started? Do you sit facing a blank screen struggling to find the words to write? If so, here are some tips and strategies you can use to get your material written quickly. Personal Journaling - Strategies To Make It Easy Recently I was watching the Oprah show and it was about doing something really great in someones life. Was it buying them a special gift? Or taking them out? Not really. Planning Time To Write In his book, "Achieving Financial Independence as a Freelance Writer," Ray Dreyfack, a full-time freelancer for 30 years, suggests that writers "ease" into full-time writing while maintaining their day jobs. If you're following this advice, either by choice or by necessity, you know that it's not always easy. Obligations to jobs and families tend to take priority over writing. It's easy to lose focus of your writing goals when you have so many distractions in your life. Business Letter Etiquette Business etiquette is fundamentally concerned with building relationships founded upon courtesy and politeness between business personnel. Etiquette, and especially business etiquette, is a means of maximising your potential by presenting yourself positively. How To Write More Powerful Reports There is one key difference between reports and most other forms of business writing, and we get a hint of that in the word, "report." Whereas with many other forms of written comms you can be a little creative and put your own slant on your words, in a report you must not. Not in theory, anyway. Win More Clients, Projects and Freelance Jobs By Making Three Small Changes Iā??ve spoken to hundreds of editors, employers, and project managers about how they choose a freelancer for a job. Whether they were reviewing job applications or considering project bids, they all had one thing in common. As every one of them started to look at the applications, they had their skepticā??s hat on. Why Book Writers Need A Running Mate By far, I have found that the lack of discipline is the biggest hindrance for most people, when it comes to writing a book of any kind. Although I urge you as a would-be writer to develop a theme because once you are clear on "why" you want to write a book, your motivational level will shift into a higher gear, I also urge you to get an accountability partner. This person will be the most important asset you can have as a writer. Get An Attitude About Your Writing (This excerpt is taken from my new writing workshop Writing To Sell In the Internet Age.) The Cost of Being a Writer You are the only one who knows what being a writer means to you. 10 Ways to Shatter Writers Block 1. Use Logic: Check for External Pressures How To Co-Publish For Profits! The Benefits of Co-Publishing The Top Five Writing Mistakes Professionals Make Yes, you know your subject. You also need to think about entertaining your audience, and making your book or other writing easy to read. If your writing lacks organization and compelling, vital sentences that convince your readers to keep reading, they will leave your book or Web site immediately. There goes your "word-of-mouth" promotion. Gaining Writing Experience GAINING WRITING EXPERIENCE Five Minute Miracles FIVE MINUTES ... Is All You Need ........to phone a friend ..... peel potatoes for dinner ..... pick the kids up from school ..... or write a few words that could earn you anything from a plastic pinny or ballpoint pen, to a dream house in the sun, a top-of-the-range sports car, or thousands of dollars in cash and luxury goods! Tips For Better Writing It is certainly true that we don't get a second chance to make a first impression. As the impression we make on the Internet is almost always with the written word, is it unfortunate that there is so much poor writing bouncing around in cyberspace. The following tips are intended to help you make a better first impression. Creating Great Business Correspondence Obtaining the skills for writing good business correpondence is important; a job seeker needs to send customised job application letters. A secretary needs to send out an official invitation letter. A purchasing assistant may need to prepare an invoice. It does not necessarily imply that you must just have a good standard of English. You should remember that correspondence means to communicate a message. It is a two-way effort between the writer and the receiver. Revising Your Manuscript: Fourteen Questions to Ask Yourself 1) Can you summarize the story in about a sentence or two?
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
